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. 2020 Aug:74:102259.
doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102259. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

The Skidmore Anxiety Stigma Scale (SASS): A covert and brief self-report measure

Casey A Schofield  1 , Gabriella T Ponzini  2
Affiliations

The Skidmore Anxiety Stigma Scale (SASS): A covert and brief self-report measure

Casey A Schofield et al. J Anxiety Disord. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Shame and concerns about stigma are salient barriers to treatment for people with anxiety disorders, and yet very little stigma research has focused on this class of disorders. One explanation for this research gap is the absence of a brief, psychometrically sound measure for assessing public stigma for the anxiety disorders as a class. This (three-study) paper presents the psychometric properties of a 7-item scale that covertly assesses anxiety stigma by presenting as a test of knowledge. Items for the measure were derived from a mixed-methods project (Study 1) which assessed patient (N = 47) experiences with stigma. Subsequently, exploratory factor analysis (N = 270) demonstrated that the scale fit a one-factor solution (Study 2). Study 3 comprehensively evaluated the measure's psychometric properties, including confirming the one-factor solution. Results further demonstrated test-retest reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and internal consistency. This brief measure fills an important gap by providing means for covertly assessing public stigma encountered by individuals with anxiety disorders and thus subverts social desirability concerns that plague self-report measures of stigma. Thus, the SASS increases the feasibility of work capturing the nature and impact of anxiety stigma - a highly relevant barrier to treatment.

Keywords: Anxiety disorder; Covert; Measure; Scale; Stigma.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Self-report of whether stigma affects various life domains (0 = definitely not and 4 = definitely yes).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Self-reported perceptions of how common various negative stereotypes about people with anxiety disorders are.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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